Indonesia

West Kalimantan

Your journey in West Kalimantan starts from Pontianak, a lively city located on the equator. You can visit the Sultan Palace or the Mujahiddin Mosque before you venture off to explore the region’s beautiful, natural sites. Begin by taking a boat ride along the Kapuas river, Indonesia’s longest river, joining the busy traffic of people and goods and discover the picturesque local houses connected by wooden bridges. You will pass tribal villages, visit impressive Dayak longhouses and discover ancient remains and old inscriptions. The Kapuas river will bring you to dramatic sceneries and also to discover the remarkable bridge in Tayan Hilir, Kalimantan’s longest bridge, and a popular destination where locals enjoy picnics and daily excursions. Along the river banks, you can stop at the Sompu waterfalls or in one of the many lakes for a swim.

Anthropologists will appreciate the close encounters with tribespeople; go inland to meet the Bekati tribe and learn about their ways of life, or head to the feet of the Muller mountains to visit Tanjung Lokan, a traditional Dayak settlement. If you feel adventurous, you can leave the boat behind and join a jungle trek to find enormous traditional longhouses and discover unparalleled biodiversity at Lake Centarum National Park. This spectacular lake transports you to a magically silent and pristine world, where you can observe animals in their natural environment and have a real eco-tourism experience. The wildlife includes 120 species of fish, among which the clown loach, the Asian bony tongue and the marble goby, as well as the siamese and the estuarine crocodile. In the jungle, you are likely to meet some orangutans and proboscis monkeys as well as false gavials and great argus pheasants.

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Travel Tip #90

A sailing trip in Indonesia is an amazing experience. There are countless islands mushrooming along the ocean and by staying on a boat, you get a clear view of the moon, stars, sunrise and sunset. Jump off the boat and you’re in the ocean with hundreds of species of fish and coral. Jump off at the beach and the world is simply yours; there are no people there at all. It need not be very expensive either.

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